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You’re probably heard of lifestyle inflation, especially in today’s current economic climate. You may even feel its influence whenever you get a pay raise or bonus. With an increase to your wage you probably feel you deserve a better car and a bigger TV; with a yearly bonus you may even think you can pay for a extension to your house. Rather than banking it and keeping your cost of living stable, you spend it instead.  While I’m not saying you should never spend your money, keeping your lifestyle inflation under control will benefit you and your finances significantly in the long run. When things are rough (as they arguably are now) you will really appreciate the benefits.

On Monday, I had the privilege of having Lifehacker mention my weekly planner. It brought hundreds (thousands?) of new visitors my way, who wanted to check it out. However there was some doubt as to how I actually use it with many wanting to see a filled in example. So today that’s exactly what I’m going to give you. I hope this will clarify a few points for you all. If you still have any questions please leave a comment and I will try to answer them.

Today is Blog Action day, an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers together to post about the same issue on the same day, with the aim of raising awareness and promoting discussion. Last year it was all about the environment, this year the topic is poverty. Thousands of sites are likely to get involved so be sure to keep an eye out. If last year i anything to go by, there will be plenty of original and insightful ideas. For my contribution I want to take an introductory look at lifestyle inflation.

Not too long ago I came across the concept of raising your consciousness. Any habit or behaviour is a subconscious action, which means you basically do it without thinking about it. That urge to reach for a cigarette, slouching in a chair or calling somebody by a particular name… that’s your subsconscious doing its work. If you had to think through every single thing you did humans probably wouldn’t be around today. Of course, the only problem with that is it can lead to your picking up bad habits.

Parkour is the aim of moving from one location to another as quickly and efficiently as possible. This typically involves overcoming obstacles like park benches, trees, walls and cars. I found this idea especially interesting because of the uncanny similarities between it and productivity. You have to have the right mental discipline (no procrastinating or lack of focus), not get distracted by unnecessary activities (vaulting a bar when you don’t need to) and make decisions on how to deal with those obstacles in as stress-free a way as possible. Sound familiar? Can you see any other similarities in this video?